'Palazzo Cirelli...', 1841.

Description

A daguerreotype of the Santa Lucia waterfront at Naples, Italy, by Alexander John Ellis. Running along Naple's harbour front, Santa Lucia street joined the Royal Palace in Piazza Plebiscito and the Castel dell'Ovo. Traditionally the fishing quarter of Naples, it was redeveloped in the late nineteenth century into a more exclusive hotel and tourist district. The full title of the daguerreotype is 'Palazzo Cirelli (now the Hotel a la Ville de Rome) and Sta Lucia from the steps of the Church of S. Maria alla Calena.' Ellis toured Italy in 1841, taking daguerreotype panoramas, landscapes and architectural views. In Rome, he worked with Achille Morelli and Lorenzo Suscipi, acquiring 45 daguerreotypes from them. In total, Ellis took or acquired 159 daguerreotypes. He intended to publish engravings made from these as a book entitled 'Italy Daguerreotyped', but sadly the project was never realised.